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I just finished up with a full neuropsychological evaluation and will be getting the official results in a little over a week. I doubt there will be any surprises (the psychologist seemed to agree with my self-diagnosis), but of course that won't stop me from obsessing over it. It feels like I took my brain apart and left it on the kitchen table, and until it's back together my thoughts keep going round in circles. How do you make plans when you're in psychological limbo?

Anyway, since it looks like I'm stuck on reading about autism for at least another week or so, it should at least be productive. The reason I sought an official (and expensive!) diagnosis is because of difficulties at school. I only have another year to go, but it's a year that's FULL of social encounters in a chaotic, noisy, sensory overload kind of environment. I'm overclocking now as it is and my mask keeps slipping. I have to explain to professors why I vacillate between extremes of smart and stupid before I accidentally commit professional suicide.

So I need to figure out what I'm going to say and how I'm going to say it. Has anybody read Coming Out Asperger: Diagnosis, Disclosure And Self-confidence
by Dinah Murray? Any other books/resources people can suggest? Any general advice would also be welcome.

I haven't read the book, but I think that I should.

Update: the book above was disappointing. However, my mother sent me a really great book called Asperger's on the Job that has a lot of great info for both employee and employer. Yes, the cover is a little scary.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1935274090/?tag=bhea-20

Yes, I have read the book. Another book to check out would be "Ask and Tell: Self-Advocacy and Disclosure for People on the Autism Spectrum", which is basically a compliation of different stories, just like the other book. The book you've mentioned was actually edited by Dinah Murray, not authored - just a side note. I haven't read the latter book so I can't offer my opinion, but I've gathered some bits and pieces from the one you've mentioned.

When it comes to self-disclosing, the best advice I would have is to NOT mention the word Asperger's or even autism. If you are having a specific problem, then say that you have this problem and what is causing it. From my own experiences, people would be willing to help you once you've clearly stated your issue. If someone asks you whether you have the condition, then you could say yes, you have it. But the important thing here is that the label's name would have to be said by the other person first, since that would show that they are aware of its implications. If you say the name first, then you risk having other people judge you by their own, highly stereotypical standards of autism.

EDIT: I previously mentioned self-diagnosis because I remember that you were self-diagnosed before, a mistake on my part.

per the Americans with Disabilities Act, an employer is not allowed to ask (or imply) that you have a disability. so although they might suspect, if they are privy to this law any disclosure would have to be initiated by you.

after reading the Employer's Guide to Asperger's Syndrome PDF (from another post), i'm of the mind that disclosure (or partial / suggestive disclosure, such as "i have sound sensitivities that make it difficult for me to concentrate) to employers might be really beneficial in some circumstances, as it could indicate that "problematic" behavior is not meant to be self-important (asking for sensory accommodations) or subordinate (directness when acquiring information from a supervisor).

I really don't think you need to worry about what your diagnosis will be; you won't need to change anything about yourself because of it. You shouldn't worry about what your professors think about about you personally--if you're having trouble getting assignments done or finishing tests, you should talk to the professor or to the disabilities office at your school, but beyond that, there really shouldn't be any great need to go out there and declare to the world that you have Asperger's Syndrome; The majority of the responses you'd get would be along the lines of, "What is that?"

Sorry, this is an old post that I revived because I finally got around to reading the book on disclosure and thought I'd save anyone who was considering buying it the trouble and money. Diagnosis was confirmed.